If you are choosing where to build your website today, the decision is no longer a simple WordPress versus everything else debate.
If you are already using HighLevel as your CRM and marketing system, you now have three realistic options to consider. Each has clear strengths, limitations, and cost implications.
Let’s walk through all three properly.
Option 1. Build Your Website Directly in HighLevel
HighLevel includes a built-in website and funnel builder. Functionally, it is closer to Wix or Squarespace than to WordPress.
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What this option does well
- Tight integration with the HighLevel CRM, forms, calendars, pipelines, and automation
- Simple visual editor that is easy for non-technical users
- No plugins to manage
- Unlimited Sites and Hosting included within your HighLevel account
- Lots of pre built templates
- Very fast to launch brochure sites and lead generation websites. I set up marketerm8.com from a template in a Friday evening
Where it has limitations
- Layout flexibility is more limited than WordPress
- Simple websites, cannot build complex sites
- Blogging is basic and not ideal for long-term content-heavy SEO strategies
- No plugin ecosystem. (on this site, julianmills.co.uk, in WordPress, I use about 40 plug ins to give advanced functionality)
- Complex page structures and custom functionality are harder to implement
Summary. HighLevel websites are ideal when your site is a simple format website (e.g. a home page, about us, Our services, Contact Us pages etc). They are perfect if you are not a website designer. Ideal if you need to quickly get a site up and running for a “side project”. They are not suitable for large content libraries or advanced custom functionality.
Option 2. A Traditional WordPress Website With External Hosting
This is the setup most people are familiar with.
You build your website using WordPress and you usually hire a web design agency and then buy the hosting the agency recommends.
What this option does well
- Maximum flexibility
- The software is free
- Huge plugin and theme ecosystem
- Excellent blogging and SEO capabilities
- Works with virtually any design approach
- No platform lock-in
WordPress remains the benchmark for content-driven websites.
The trade-offs people often underestimate
- You will need a website designer and it could take months to get the site live (unless you already know WordPress)
- You/ or your designer are responsible for updates, backups, security, and compatibility
- Hosting costs vary widely and often increase over time
- Performance depends heavily on hosting quality
- Integration with HighLevel relies on plug-ins, scripts, or embeds
Summary. This option gives you control and total flexibility, but you also inherit ongoing technical responsibility. Ideal if you are working with a web design agency or designer and you want a custom built website.
Option 3. WordPress Hosted Inside HighLevel
This is the newer option and the one many people are not yet aware of.
HighLevel now allows you to host a full WordPress website inside the HighLevel ecosystem.
How this works
- You build a normal WordPress website. Your web designer can log in to build and update the site.
- WordPress is hosted by HighLevel
- The software is free but the hosting cost is $20 per site per month (that is the cost with MarketerM8, other agencies may differ)
- Hosting includes:
- 30-day rolling backups at no extra cost
- A built-in staging environment
- Managed infrastructure
You still get WordPress flexibility, but without sourcing and managing third-party hosting.
Why this option is compelling
- Full WordPress flexibility
- No need to manage separate hosting accounts
- Backups included without additional plug-ins
- Staging environment included, which many budget hosts do not provide
- Clean integration with the rest of your HighLevel setup
Summary. This option sits neatly between the other two. You get WordPress flexibility with far less hosting friction. All your marketing tools are accessible and manageable through your HighLevel log in.
My Experience of moving my WordPress site to HighLevel WordPress Hosting. What I Actually Use and Why
I have been using a self-hosted version of WordPress for around 20 years. My hosting setup was the HostGator Baby Plan. When I started out in 2005 and with the little I knew at the time the main attraction was that the hosting plan it allowed me to host unlimited websites for roughly £175 per year. That made it cost-effective for running multiple personal and client sites.
The downside was speed. Page load times were never great, and WordPress admin actions often felt sluggish. I tolerated this because of the convenience and because switching hosting always feels more complex than it should be.
How This Changed With HighLevel
Since moving my business systems into HighLevel and now that HighLevel can offer WordPress hosting, my old approach approach with separate web hosting no longer made sense.
All of my newer websites, including projects like marketerm8.com and many client sites, are now built using HighLevel websites (Option 1 above). For simple business websites, these work extremely well. I genuinely enjoy using the built-in website builder. It is quicker and easier than WordPress for many use cases. The sites rank well in Google and AI Search Optimisation – although it is hard to compare at the moment as the sites are newer and HighLevel website functionality is still evolving.
However, my main site, julianmills.co.uk, is different. It has a large amount of content and a strong SEO footprint. Rebuilding that site from scratch inside a template-style builder would not have been sensible. Plus my site julianmills.co.uk it is my geeky hobby – a 20 year work in progress!
Once I saw how much better HighLevel WordPress hosting was compared to my HostGator setup, I decided to make the switch.
Overall, it works out slightly cheaper to host my WordPress website in HighLevel than the previous HostGator plus JetPack combination (Hosting + Backups) I was previously paying for. And for any additional websites that I need then I build these with the built in HighLevel website builder, as I can build and host as many websites using the HighLevel website builder as I need and they are effectively free of charge.
The Migration. An Honest Account
The migration of my www.julianmills.co.uk site from HostGator to HighLevel was not completely straightforward in my case. That was due to my specific setup and website size rather than an issue with HighLevel itself.
HighLevel provides multiple migration options.
Check out what HighLevel founder, Shaun CLark has to say –
DIY migration using the LeadConnector plugin
HighLevel provides a LeadConnector migration plugin with step-by-step instructions. I have heard good reports from others who found this easy.
In my case, it struggled. My HostGator Baby Plan had grown over the years and appeared to be around 15GB in size. Because it was a shared hosting environment with multiple websites, the plugin could not complete the migration reliably.
Here is the Migration guide for reference. WordPress Hosting Step-by-Step Migration Guide
HighLevel White-Glove Migration Assistance
HighLevel also offers a White-Glove Migration Assistance service. This option is only available to White Label HighLevel agencies. If you are a customer of a HighLevel agency, you will need to ask your agency supplier to request this on your behalf.
I used the White-Glove Migration Assistance service and was very impressed.
Although the HighLevel WordPress hosting limit is 10GB (unless upgraded), my site was actually much smaller, closer to 3GB once old backups and unused files were removed and it was split away for other websites hosted in the Hostgator Baby plan. I did some manual clean-up, after which the migration completed smoothly.
Performance Improvements. Immediately Noticeable
Once the site was moved, it was largely plain sailing. A couple of DNS changes and the site was live.
The first thing I noticed was speed. Page rendering was faster on desktop and mobile, and WordPress admin actions were dramatically quicker (the slow admin speed of my Hostgator hosted W0rdPress site had become a frustration) . Previously for instance updates could take three seconds or more – this does not sound much but the time delays all add up as you work on the website.
I am also expecting SEO improvements over time. Page speed had consistently been flagged as an issue in Google Search Console. Any ranking improvements will take time, but the technical foundation is now much stronger.
A Simple Comparison
| Option | Flexibility | Maintenance | SEO | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HighLevel Website | Low to Medium | Very Low | Medium | Lead generation sites |
| WordPress + External Hosting | Very High | High | High | Content-heavy websites |
| HighLevel Hosted WordPress | Very High | Medium | High | WordPress without hosting headaches |
Final Recommendations
- If you are starting a new website and have no WordPress experience, I would start with a website template in the HighLevel website builder and use the free hosting. It is faster, easier, and less technical. And does a great job (much better than Wix!)
- If you have a very large or complex website, especially ecommerce or one managed by an external agency, involve them in the hosting decision. If you work with a marketing agency / designer who already provides hosting think carefully about moving to HighLevel WordPress hosting – you do not want to have the issue in the future where if something goes wrong with the website then no one accepts responsibility.
- If you have a typical WordPress website, up to say 8GB in size, on shared hosting and are unhappy with speed or performance, moving WordPress hosting into HighLevel is well worth considering.
Bringing your website, CRM, automation, forms, calendars, and tracking under one platform simplifies a lot of moving parts. In my case, it has been a very worthwhile change.
Written by Julian Mills, HighLevel consultant and marketing strategist. About Julian Mills
